RALEIGH, N.C. – One game does not make a season and one sensational debut isn’t going to change the Ducks’ goaltending hierarchy that’s firmly in place.

But Ryan Miller’s sterling performance in the nets Sunday night in a 4-3 shootout win over Carolina buttressed the club’s belief in what they were getting when they signed him to be the new backup to John Gibson.

Miller isn’t with the Ducks just to provide support for Gibson. He is there to challenge him.

“My message to him was just don’t accept that you’re going to be here as the backup,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “We want you competing for the net. We want you to compete.”

Carlyle has long liked the idea of a “1A” and “1B” in net and his preference is to see that type of scenario play out. Jonathan Bernier provided a great deal of support in his one season with the Ducks but they wanted someone better. A proven – and, at one time, even elite – No. 1 that still had lots of game.

The Ducks had to wait until Miller recovered from a wrist injury but they saw the wait was worth it, at least for the first outing. What often separates teams from the pack of salary cap-produced parity is the ability to gain an additional two points on the second half of games on consecutive nights.

That’s often when the backup goalie plays, and Miller played a large part in the Ducks’ getting two points on top of Saturday’s win at Tampa Bay. Miller got better as the game went on and then was spectacular in overtime, making multiple do-or-die stops among his nine saves.

Three more stops were made in the shootout, where Miller has long starred since this post-overtime started in 2005-06. His 58 victories are most among all NHL goalies. And while he came to Anaheim with the willingness to take on a support role, the 2010 Olympic silver medalist was eager to get his stay with the Ducks going.

“You’re not going to be able to pick your spots, especially in the NHL,” Miller said. “They gave me this game and I really wanted to get it. It didn’t look so good with about five minutes left but Silvy (Jakob Silfverberg) made a great play getting to the net with traffic going there too.

“From there, we just had to grind and battle. We had some tired guys. First real trip and first back-to-back. It feels good to pull it out.”

The 3-on-3 overtime session was dominated by Carolina. But Miller said he took the additional work on breakaways in recent practices and put them into play when it came to Sebastian Aho, Justin Faulk and Victor Rask busting in with plenty of room.

“Your gap and your depth on the ice when you’re facing that shooter is kind of critical,” Miller said. “And it also translates to other parts of the game. So it’s something you really want to practice when you’re out for a while. It definitely paid off. We’ve been doing a lot of it.”

Miller had long eyed the opportunity to play in Southern California, where he lives with his wife, actress Noureen DeWulf, and their son, Bodhi. The Ducks seized on that and signed the free agent to a two-year deal after three seasons spent with Vancouver.

“When the decision was made, and usually those decisions are made over the course of the summer prior to free agency and what not, there’s a depth chart that’s created on goaltenders and who you would like,” Carlyle sad. “Who would fit and what the fit is with your group.

“We felt that obviously he was a guy that has history of stopping the puck. And he wanted to play for us. He wanted to come to Anaheim and play. He’s got ties in L.A. He’s got a home there. And it was a natural for him to come in.”

As an opponent over the years, Corey Perry is fully aware of Miller’s resume. His debut with the Ducks reinforced their confidence in bringing him in.

“He’s been around,” Perry said. “He’s played in many games in this league. He’s played in big games. He’s done a lot of good things. He’s been in the spotlight before and he‘s made some big saves at crucial times in his career.”

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